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Caverns
Caverns is by KachiUkaia Prologue: Wishflight The white cat was lost. Snowstar wandered through the tunnels, trying desperately to find a way out and back to the surface, the surface he loved so much, the surface where his family, where his Clan was waiting... It had been a long time since he had first entered the tunnels. How long had it been? Days? Moons? Seasons? Snowstar didn't know. He was starting to be able to see in the pitch darkness just as a normal cat could see in the light. His pelt, once pure white, was now covered with the dirt that fell from the tunnels. His paws ached, and he didn't know how he would ever be able to survive down here. Finally, finally, he saw a hint of light just ahead. Brightening with hope, he rushed forward. He found himself in a giant cavern. He realized that the light was coming from a tiny crack in the ceiling of the cavern. There was no way out. Looking around, Snowstar saw, in the dim light, that there were other cats, huddled together on ledges on the walls of the cavern. They all looked frightened, hungry, and desperate. They all seemed to be staring at something behind him. Whirling around, Snowstar found himself face to face with a cat whose silver fur seemed to shimmer slightly. "Oh, StarClan," he breathed. "You scared me."'' Is this shimmer-pelt cat from StarClan? Am I dead?'' "Did I?" the shimmering-pelt-cat said in an oddly soft, quiet voice, tipping her head to one side. "Terribly sorry. I am Wishing for Flight Away, but please call me Wishflight. May I ask how you found your way into the Caverns?" Snowstar hesitated. She looks so small and fragile. ''"I'm not sure." "That is okay," Wishflight told him in her quiet voice. "Most cats that wind up here do not." Snowstar scanned the cats on the ledges. "Does no one try to escape?" "Cats do try, if they can get out of this cavern. But they wind up lost, and then I find them dead when I go through the tunnels." ''That's an odd thing to say. ''"So wait," Snowstar said, outraged. "You know your way around?" "Of course. I go through the tunnels to find food for these cats." Snowstar narrowed his eyes. "How could you? You keep them trapped here, but you know the way out?" Wishflight didn't say anything. Snowstar launched himself at the shimmering she-cat. Before he knew what was happening, Wishflight had him turned on his back, pinned to the floor, and unable to move at all. "Wh-what are you?" he breathed. "I am a cat," Wishflight responded, loosening her grip. "I may be a shimmer-pelt cat, and you may think I look small and fragile, but I am not. I am as strong as the next cat, if not stronger." Snowstar flinched and stood up. Was she reading his thoughts? "No, you're a coward!" one of the ledge-cats yowled, her voice echoing loudly around the cavern. "The only reason you keep us here is becase you don't want to be alone. Isn't that right?" Several other cats nodded in agreement. "I am no coward," Wishflight said, her voice oddly soft. "Yes, you are!" another cat screeched. "If you're not a coward, why not let us off of these rocky prisons and let us wander as we wish?" Startled, Snowstar realized that there were strange bands around each ledge-cat's neck, and a chain of some sort, connecting each cat to the rock ledge it sat on. ''So that's what she meant by 'if' they can get out of the cavern! ''He turned back to Wishflight, desperate for an escape. "I'm the leader of WinterClan," he announced. "I have a Clan to return to. You can't keep me here!" "Aw, don't even try," a new ledge-cat called to him in a raspy voice. "That stupid cat won't care." Following the voice, Snowstar found himself looking at three cats about his size, sitting together on the same ledge. They were a brown tabby she-cat with green eyes, a white and cream she-cat with blue eyes, and a ginger tom with amber eyes who had spoken. With a sudden jolt of recognition, he said hoarsely, "Leafstar of AutumnClan, Petalstar of SpringClan, and Sunstar of SummerClan? But everyone said you died!" "Obviously everyone was wrong," hissed the white and cream she-cat, Petalstar, in a way that was much angrier than she usually acted. "If we were dead, would we be here?" Leafstar, the brown tabby, agreed. "This place sure isn't StarClan, regardless of how shimmery this cat's pelt may be." She made a deliberate show of turning away from Wishflight. Sunstar snorted. "It's not the Place of No Stars either, although it sure feels like we did something wrong." Speaking louder, he added, "But none of us have done anything to deserve this!" Several cats yowled and hissed as Sunstar spoke, showing that what he said was, unfortunately, true. ''What is this place? ''Snowstar wondered, horrified. ''Why am I here? How do I get out?